


The Press

by thenakedbearlady



Series: Ladrien June 2019 [23]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: F/M, Ladrien June
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-01
Updated: 2019-07-01
Packaged: 2020-05-31 15:53:44
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,019
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19429222
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thenakedbearlady/pseuds/thenakedbearlady
Summary: Things are starting to come to a head. Ladybug can't keep her secrets much longer.





	The Press

Ladybug had sincerely thought that anything that came on the television would be better than the absolute mess she’d walked into. It was surreal in a way, how every decision she’d made up to that point led to this humiliation. Would it have helped if she’d mentioned her burgeoning crush on Luka to anyone other than Tikki? Probably. Should she have confessed her feelings to Adrien at any of the many, many, many times she’d tried in the past if only to clear the air in their friendship? Likely. Was is possible she should have let Rena Rouge and Carapace in on what was going on, effectively alerting Alya and Nino to the situation? Very possible. 

But her biggest regret was dating Adrien under false pretenses. As she scrambled to grab the remote, hoping for any distraction to this train wreck of an encounter, she tried not to catastrophize the situation. It was difficult though. She couldn’t very well _not_ reveal herself now, it would be horribly duplicitous and just thinking about it made her feel skeevy. But how would Adrien feel now that he knew she was not only his friend, but also his friend who had a weird crush on him that he’d never thought of as anything even slightly romantic? It was a lot to unpack.

Despite her best intentions, and certainly against all odds, the guest up for interview with Nadja today was Lila. Ladybug’s grip went slack and the remote slipped from her grasp to the parquet flooring. She briefly considered making a run for it, for surely no one would expect her to have to deal with everything else going on right now on top of this. It seemed, however, that her feet were locked in place as she watched in abject horror. 

_Hi, I'm Nadja Chamack, and this is Side by Side. Today, I'm joined by Lila Rossi, a girl who claims to have been bullied by one of Paris’ sweethearts, Ladybug. Now, Lila, these are some extraordinary claims, surely you have some extraordinary evidence to back it up?_

_Well Nadja_ , Lila started, her eyes full of crocodile tears, _I’m sure you’ve noticed that we really haven’t been seeing Rena Rouge around lately. It’s because I’m Rena and Ladybug has taken my Miraculous away from me_. Shocked gasps echoed through the studio as well as in the Césaire living room.

Ladybug’s stomach dropped. She could not believe that this was actually happening right now. It was obviously planned, unlike her last attempt to slander Ladybug, because this time she remembered Rena Rouge was the hero and Volpina was the Akuma.

Alya was pacing behind her, muttering under her breath, “That lying, scheming… Oh, let me get my hands on her, I’ll wring her treacherous throat!” as Nino tried to comfort her.

“It’s okay babe, we all know nothing she says is true,'' he whispered soothingly.

Even Nadja was skeptical, _Our viewers have been curious about her disappearance, but how can you prove that you are in fact Rena Rouge? You said yourself you can’t transform anymore._   
Lila sniffled, and passed a folder to Nadja. _I believe this is all the evidence you need._

Nadja’s eyes widened in shock, her jaw literally dropping as she looked at whatever Lila gave her. She recovered quickly though, a wide grin in place. _You’ll see it here first everyone, picture proof that Lila Rossi is Rena Rouge!_

“The heck she is!” Alya shouted. As Ladybug screamed “No she isn’t!” But despite their vehement protests a photo-set of Lila transforming into Rena Rouge began to appear on screen. The final picture was of Ladybug and the false Rena pressed together for a selfie, cheeks squished as they beamed at the camera.

“That never happened!” Ladybug turned to Alya who looked devastated. “I’ve only given one person the fox Miraculous, and it sure as hell isn’t her.” Alya nodded, though her eyes were still glassy. 

Adrien stepped forward tentatively, “We believe you, right guys?” Their friends voiced their agreement, but it was halfheartedly. He took another step, a shaky but encouraging smile in place. “It’s okay Lovebug, we’ll get this cleared up.” 

Ladybug drew an unsteady breath and took his hand. “Yeah, you’re right.”

_You look so close in this picture, what caused Ladybug to strip you of your powers?_ Nadja asked, leaning in close to Lila.

_You might have a hard time believing this, I definitely did when I first found out, but Ladybug is cheating on Adrien Agreste._

_No!_ Nadja gasped, _With who?_

Lila smirked, _With Chat Noir AND Aspik._

Another slideshow of pictures appeared, some of her and Adrien that were all real, a couple of her with Aspik that were familiar enough, and _tons_ of her with Chat Noir. The ones with Chat though, while she could remember the moment, were _off_ somehow, as if they’d been doctored. Suddenly it clicked, somehow Lila had edited these pictures. How a collége student got access to programs that sophisticated she still didn’t know, but she did, somehow.

Someone must have grabbed the remote, because the TV clicked off at that point, going black and blanketing the room in silence. Ladybug turned to her friends uncertainly. Alya would not meet her eyes, her gaze planted firmly on Nino’s shoulder. Nino had his arms wrapped around Alya as he stared back at Ladybug, his expression full of questions Ladybug didn’t have answers for. And Adrien, Adrien’s brows were furrowed in frustration as he held her hand tightly.

Ladybug knew the jig was up then, without a doubt. She took Adrien’s other hand and squeezed gently. “I’m going to meet Chat Noir on his patrol tonight. We are going to talk about a few things that I need to tell him first.” She drew a deep breath and smiled encouragingly. “Then, I’ll come to your place and explain _everything_.”

Adrien gasped, “You don’t have to do that Lovebug, I-”

“I do though. I can’t lie anymore.” She kissed him sweetly on the cheek for what she hoped wouldn’t be the last time, and bounded for the balcony. “Bug out!”


End file.
